Emmerdale Village Store
Emmerdale Village Store & Post Office (formerly known as Beckindale shop and the village store) was the main shop in the village until 2011, when it suffered a fire, killing Terry Woods and Viv Hope. The building is now occupied by Café Main Street. Biography 1914-1989: Beckindale years The shop was run by Reg Webster alongside his wife Gladys in the 1910s, and eventually, elderly Amy Postlethwaite ran the shop until 1973 when she retired to Devon. Henry Wilks bought the shop but let Alison Gibbons run it. In 1974 when Alison left Beckindale, Norah Norris took over, working for Wiliks, until February 1975 when Lena Dawkins took over. In May 1975 a post office was installed at the shop by Wilf Padgett. Mrs Robson owned the shop in the late 1980s and was involved in a robbery at the shop in June 1988. Nick Bates foiled the robbery, but when no one was looking, Nick took some of the money left behind by the robbers. Mrs Robson left the village in 1993 to look after her ill father, and the shop was put up for sale. 1993-2000: Windsor family In August 1993, Londoner Vic Windsor arrived in the village, accompanied by his wife Viv Windsor, and their 3 children Scott, Kelly and Donna Windsor. They looked around the shop, and bought the premises a month later. In December 1993 a plane crashed on the village and Luke McAllister broke into the shop to get all the medical supplies. Vic understood, and Luke had left a note to explain, and did an inventory of stuff he took. Vic and his family bought their city ways to Beckindale and that did annoy some villagers. They ran the shop successfully. In 1994 an explosion ripped through the post office after an armed raid by Viv's ex-husband Reg Dawson. The men grabbed Viv and lead her out the back door of the shop, turning on the gas hobs on the cooker before leaving. In December 1998, Vic was killed by Billy Hopwood when he broke into the shop. 2000-2011: Windsor-Hope In March 2002, Viv Hope hired builders Syd Woolfe and Jerry Mackinley to build a cafe on the end of the post office. The cafe was popular among the regulars, and Viv decided to purchase computers for the residents use. However, Betty Eagleton soon stumbled across a live-stream of a camera set up in her living room by Seth Armstrong, showing the world what Betty had done in the "privacy" of her living room. Later in November, Viv's cafe is accidentally burnt down by a drunk Steph Stokes, when she leaves the chip pan on without Viv's knowledge. In 2011 crooked policeman Nick Henshall, suffering from hero syndrome, sets fire to Victoria Cottage, the home of his girlfriend Katie Sugden. The fire travels down the maisonettes and to the shop. Terry Woods and Viv's current husband Bob Hope goes in to save Viv and their twins. Bob rescues the twins but as the firefighters prepare to save Viv and Terry, the shop explodes, killing Viv and Terry. Following the fire, Viv's widow Bob decided to just re-open the building as a café, today known as Café Main Street. Owners * Amy Postlethwaite (c. 1973) * Alison Gibbons (1973-1974) * Norah Norris (1974-1975) * Lena Dawkins (1975-1976) * Mrs Swannick (1976) * Mrs. Robson (c1988-1993) * Vic Windsor (1993-1998) * Viv Hope (1993-2011) * Bob Hope (2000-2011) Background information * In 2002, ''Emmerdale ''was asked to take part in the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The crew decided to do a live viewing of an explosion, which they decided to use the Post Office for. The explosion was filmed for Episode 3306 (11th November 2002) Category:Businesses in Main Street Category:Buildings in Main Street Category:Locations